The “Electra 007” badges on this 1980 Dodge Omni 024 aren’t some misguided try to show it right into a poor man’s James Bond automobile. Nevertheless, the know-how inside may need impressed Q himself, a minimum of in 1980. It is a Jet Industries electrical conversion of the Omni 024. It is not the primary time we have seen one, however this instance is in significantly better situation, and positively extra authentic than the modified Lemons racer. Better of all, this one will be yours, because of Mecum Auctions.
Particulars of this explicit automobile’s historical past are sparse, however we will fill in some blanks. In the course of the late Nineteen Seventies and early Nineteen Eighties, Jet Industries transformed roughly 1,400 autos to electrical energy, together with Ford and Subaru fashions in addition to Chrysler merchandise. In keeping with Autoweek, Jet was one among 4 firms given authorities grants to push the boundaries of EV know-how on the time. The U.S. was popping out of an vitality disaster, and electrical automobiles had been one strategy to free us from Large Oil. Sound acquainted?
The appropriate concept on the incorrect time
The federal government additionally helped fund Chrysler’s improvement of the then-futuristic, aerodynamic physique, which it shared with the Plymouth Horizon TC3. The usual automobile got here with a VW-sourced 1.7-liter engine making 70 horsepower — not precisely a barnstormer. Jet Industries changed this with a 23-hp electrical motor. It nonetheless used the VW four-speed handbook transmission, not like trendy EVs that sometimes have a single-speed transmission.
The dashboard has a sticker advising what gear to make use of at which pace. It additionally has extra gauges for battery amps and p.c of cost. I additionally acknowledge an Espar heater management, generally utilized in camper vans immediately. With no gasoline engine to provide warmth, this should have been a vital complement.
The rear cargo space is usually gone, transformed into a big battery field with extra electrical meters. As with most toys, batteries will not be included on this automobile. That is in all probability factor, for the reason that authentic 20 six-volt lead-acid batteries weighed about 1,000 kilos, practically half the load of the unique automobile.
That, finally, is why this era of EVs failed. The know-how was merely not superior sufficient to make it sensible for on a regular basis use. Whereas EVs are nonetheless heavy, batteries have vastly improved, vary is on par with gas-powered autos, and efficiency is healthier, not worse. Nonetheless, the Jet Electra 007 is an attention-grabbing time capsule of an anticipated EV future that by no means got here to be.
